Tag: rocky

Creed is a sports drama directed by Ryan Coogler, with a screenplay by Coogler and Aaron Covington. The film follows Adonis “Donnie” Johnson (Michael B. Jordan), an illegitimate son of former boxing great Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). Despite living a privileged life and holding down a great job, Donnie has a hankering to get into the ring—boxing courses through his veins. Donnie leaves his home in Los Angeles and heads to Philadelphia, the home of Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone)—his father’s former foe-turned-friend. Donnie tries to convince Rocky to train him, and despite Balboa’s many rejections to those requests, he finally agrees. Along the way to an eventual title shot, Donnie and Rocky both endure plenty of bumps in the road, but their collective desire to press on places this duo on a resilient path.

I am a committed fan of the Rocky franchise, and in Creed, my love for the series lives on. Stallone’s original Rocky (1976) was a flawless film with a beautiful story. And although the series came to a fitting end for Rocky as a competitive boxer in 2006’s Rocky Balboa, the character itself endures—albeit in a new, supporting role—thanks to Ryan Coogler and Creed. This film is only Coogler’s second feature of his career. The 29-year-old USC alum debuted on the scene in 2013 with Fruitvale Station, a gripping tale of the real-life events surrounding Oscar Grant’s murder by a BART officer in Oakland, CA. That film, like Creed, features Michael B. Jordan as the lead character. These two guys are completely in sync as a team, and I sure hope they continue to work together in the future. Coogler’s direction in Creed is nothing short of masterful. He crafts a brand new, stand-alone story, but he does so in a way that pays picturesque homage to Stallone and his beloved Rocky series. In Creed, we see so many parallels between itself and Rocky, including a strikingly similar story arc—Coogler even delivers a romantic subplot that is charmingly reminiscent of Rocky and Adrian’s original affectionate connection. Additionally, one of my favorite scenes of the entire film features Donnie watching clips of his father’s infamous fight with Rocky Balboa on a big screen in his personal home theater—Donnie eventually stands up and shadow boxes with the two legends, and as the sights and sounds of the fight build with the music, I got a zillion chills. Coogler could not have drawn that scene up any better. Although this film is especially incredible to me (given that it builds upon some of my favorite sports films of all time), Coogler gives modern fans a new story that dexterously succeeds in its own individual right. I applaud Ryan Coogler for reinvigorating one of sports’ greatest tales.

As far as acting, the obvious starting point is Sylvester Stallone. In the modern age of cinema, Stallone is a household name because of his many action-packed, macho-man movies, such as The Expendables, Escape Plan, and Grudge Match. Most simply do not respect Stallone anymore as a credible performer, at least in a critically acclaimed manner—that all changes with Creed. The original Rocky (1976) garnered Stallone Oscar nominations for both Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor (the film was additionally nominated for eight more Oscars, winning three for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Film Editing) and rightfully so. Stallone showcased his immense acting abilities in the original film, and I was as pleased as anyone to see him steal the show in Creed—he reminded us just how good of an actor he really can be (this is a huge credit to Ryan Coogler for getting the best out of Stallone). His character’s attitudes, facial expressions, and mannerisms are vintage Rocky Balboa; yet, the character is more lonely and broken down than we’ve ever seen him. It is in his delineation of these downhearted emotions that Stallone succeeds. Hard to believe that 40 years after the original Rocky was released, Stallone will (most likely) be snagging an Oscar for his portrayal of Rocky Balboa.

With Rocky Balboa taking a more backseat role in Creed, Michael B. Jordan emerges as the story’s new lead, portraying Apollo Creed’s son Adonis. Jordan is a fantastic up-and-coming talent in Hollywood, and in Creed, he gives an incredibly gifted performance. Some have argued that Jordan was snubbed by the Academy. I do not believe this is true; even though Jordan delivered a brilliant portrayal in the film, the Academy’s five choices for Best Actor were simply too good this year. This fact does not lessen the importance of Michael B. Jordan’s performance, however. Adonis is a young, confused kid. He does not quite know who he is as a man, and this is visibly evidenced by his outward frustration and anger. Jordan nails these nuanced emotions to a tee, and in Adonis Creed, he has given film fans a new boxing hero. In addition to Jordan, Tessa Thompson gives a radiant performance as Donnie’s love interest Bianca, a hearing-impaired musician. As mentioned earlier, the romantic subplot of Donnie and Bianca mimics that of Rocky and Adrian from the original film, and Thompson’s beautiful acting is the fulcrum that holds this on-screen couple together—much like her performance in 2014’s Dear White People, Tessa Thompson delivers tenfold. Creed is rated PG-13 for violence, language, and some sensuality.

The media predicts, “Sly, Sly…and, oh yeah, Sly” to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. According to the major awards ceremonies that have taken place so far, that prediction is spot on. I, on the other hand, take a different view on this category. Even though Sylvester Stallone will most definitely take home Oscar gold later this month, my vote goes to someone else. With stellar performances in 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road, Legend, and The Revenant, this other actor gets my vote! The following is my Oscars ballot for this category, Best Actor in a Supporting Role:

WINNER: Tom Hardy (The Revenant)

After doing some research, it appears that no one—seriously, no one—pegs Tom Hardy to finish anywhere but last place in the Oscar voting for Best Supporting Actor. They are probably absolutely correct. As I read this week, this could be due to Hardy’s standoff-ish nature when it comes to awards, the media, or anything else outside his own private, personal life; in fact, he has actively avoided any sort of Oscar “campaign” like most nominees take part in. To that, I say: So what? If this award is truly about the best acting performance, then Hardy deserves to win—which is why he has my vote. In The Revenant, Hardy plays John Fitzgerald, the film’s antagonist who leaves his men to stay behind with Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) after the latter’s bear attack. Fitzgerald eventually deceives his men by killing Glass’s son and leaving Hugh Glass for dead. DiCaprio is most likely going to win the Oscar for Best Actor (rightfully so), but his performance throughout is mostly silent. Hardy is the film’s voice, albeit an evil one. Hardy is traditionally thought of as the “pretty boy.” But in The Revenant, much like in Bronson (Hardy’s greatest role to date), Hardy revels in his malevolent, bad-boy role. He lies, he misleads, and he kills unemotionally; this takes a complete transformation for an actor to sell this kind of character, if it is to work on a grand scale. Obviously Hardy succeeded in that challenge: The Revenant is up for 12 (the most nominations for any film this year) Oscars and is considered the frontrunner for Best Picture. Does a lot of that have to do with DiCaprio and director Alejandro Iñárritu? Absolutely! But is Tom Hardy’s performance the key to its ultimate success? I argue that it is. Hardy outperformed DiCaprio in my mind, and although he will not win the award, I truly believe he is the most worthy. Hardy has never previously been nominated for an Academy Award.

Sylvester Stallone (Creed)

If I were to rank the greatest sports movies in the history of film, I would be hard-pressed to track down anything more gritty, raw, inspiring, or altogether masterful than Rocky. I am a die-hard fan of the franchise (except for Rocky V—let’s pretend that never happened), and I was on Cloud Nine the moment I heard Sylvester Stallone would be reprising his role in the seventh installment in the franchise, Creed. In the film, Rocky Balboa trains the son of his longtime rival and friend, the deceased Apollo Creed. The Balboa in Creed is as we have never seen him before: aging, wounded, lonely, and, most of all, vulnerable. Stallone is a household name because of his beloved Balboa character, and to see him reprise this role nearly 40 years after the original film (and almost ten years since Rocky Balboa) would have been enough for me and many fans of the franchise. However, Stallone shocked us all by delivering one of his greatest performances of his long and storied career, rivaling only—you guessed it—his Oscar-nominated performance in the original Rocky. The 69-year-old looked like an actor in his prime, providing us with a memorable performance that will live on in film history. Anywhere you look, Stallone is the favorite to win this Academy Award, and rightfully so—he has already taken home hardware from the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards. I also believe he will win the Oscar, but for me, Tom Hardy simply delivered the year’s best, which is why Sly does not get my vote. Stallone was previously nominated for both Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay for his work on Rocky (1976).

Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight)

In Spotlight, Mark Ruffalo portrays the real-life Michael Rezendes, one of the investigative journalists on The Boston Globe’s “Spotlight” team, which worked to uncover a vile child-abuse scandal within the Catholic Church in the early 2000s. A couple of days ago, I wrote about how Rachel McAdams delivered one of the more surprisingly effective performances in one of the year’s best films. But Spotlight succeeds at its core because of Ruffalo’s remarkably emotional and heart-wrenching performance. Throughout the film, Ruffalo is unrelenting in his journey to uncover one of Boston’s most horrifying scandals. His efforts are unyielding and his devotion is indomitable, and Ruffalo owns his scenes with determined gravitas. At first I thought the only annoying part of Ruffalo’s portrayal was the odd mannerisms, but a quote from Entertainment Weekly put me in my place: “And for those who know the real-life Rezendes, the resounding consensus is that Ruffalo nailed both the man’s physical nuances and his character traits without turning the performance into a caricature.” Bravo, Mark Ruffalo; your third Best Supporting Actor nomination in six years is, per usual, well deserved! Ruffalo has been previously nominated two times in the Best Supporting Actor category, for The Kids Are All Right (2010) and Foxcatcher (2014).

Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)

In Bridge of Spies, Mark Rylance portrays the real-life Rudolf Abel, a Soviet spy who is captured by the CIA and ultimately sent back to the Soviet Union in exchange for American spy pilot Francis Gary Powers. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, Bridge of Spies was a tremendous film, and Rylance is one of the key figures behind its success. For those of you feeling unfamiliar with Rylance’s previous work, do not fret—most of us are! Rylance has not acted in many popular feature films, as his true love is the theater; in fact, he is critically acclaimed in that arena, winning two Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Play. I sure hope to see him appear in more films in the future because his acting performance in Spielberg’s latest feature was top-notch. He portrayed Abel as quiet and unassuming, but all the while wise and unwearied—his subtleties shone brightly! Rylance has never previously been nominated for an Academy Award.

Christian Bale (The Big Short)

In Adam McKay’s The Big Short, Christian Bale plays the real-life Dr. Michael Burry, an incredibly eccentric hedge-fund manager who predicted the housing market collapse of 2007-08, making millions of dollars in the process. Simply put: Christian Bale is one of the best and most talented actors in Hollywood. But despite his impeccable performance in The Big Short, I was quite surprised to see him receive an Oscar nod. I am not knocking his performance because, per usual, Bale nails it—Burry is a reclusive, socially awkward savant, and Bale crushed the portrayal. However, I cannot get on board with his nomination because in my opinion, Bale gave the third-best performance in the film; Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling absolutely stole the show. Bale was previously nominated for Best Actor for his role in American Hustle (2013), and he won his lone Academy Award in the Best Supporting Actor category for 2010’s The Fighter.

“Pain is temporary, film is forever.” – John Milius, co-writer of Apocalypse Now. Welcome back, everyone. This year has already been an incredible journey playing out on the silver screen, and I am ecstatic to be back to blogging about the greatest medium in the world: FILM! As of today, we are 184 days away from the 88th Academy Awards. Per usual, the bulk of my research and preparation for the release of a decent chunk of potential Oscar-worthy movies begins now!

With that, it is time to get the Fall Movie Season started. For the third consecutive year, I have compiled a list of my most anticipated movies of the season. Below is the schedule for my three Fall Preview posts, so make sure to be on the lookout this week:

Today: Honorable Mentions

Saturday: No. 10 – No. 6

Monday: No. 5 – No. 1

Kicking off this year’s Fall Preview are the five films that just missed out on making my list of the Top 10 movies I am most looking forward to seeing (in alphabetical order). Enjoy!

Bridge of Spies

Bridge of Spies, set during the Cold War, tells the true story of James Donovan (Tom Hanks), an American attorney tasked with negotiating the release of Francis Gary Powers (Alan Alda), an imprisoned U-2 pilot, in exchange for Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance), a Soviet spy. With Steven Spielberg directing and Tom Hanks playing the lead, my interest is obviously piqued. Bridge of Spies is the 29th feature film for Spiely as a director, and it is also he and Hanks’s fourth collaboration (Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal). Although I truly have not enjoyed a Spielberg-directed film since 2002’s Catch Me If You Can, I am holding out hope that the visionary behind the likes of Jaws, E.T., and Jurassic Park, can get back to making award-worthy films. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, supporting actress Amy Ryan gives me that hope: “Watching [Spielberg] create a shot, he looks like the young boy who discovered film for the first time.”

The trailer is incredibly tense, and it showcases Tom Hanks in what appears to be another memorable performance by the 2-time Oscar winner. Despite the fact that the film features supporting performances by seasoned veterans Rylance, Alda, and Ryan, film fans will likely flock to the theaters in droves simply because of Hanks. Bridge of Spies is set for a theatrical release on October 16, 2015.

Carol, set in 1950s New York City, follows Therese (Rooney Mara), a twentysomething shop-girl who falls in love with the titular character Carol (Cate Blanchett), a much older, married woman. Carol debuted at Cannes this year, receiving critical acclaim from all in attendance. Ever since I first heard the buzz about the film, I was instantly drawn in. Cate Blanchett is squarely within my top five favorite actresses in the business, and Rooney Mara has continued to grow on me with her innate acting adroitness.

What struck me most about this film was director Todd Haynes’s artistic and genuinely humanistic approach to taking on this taboo subject matter. He told Entertainment Weekly, “[o]f course, it’s a story about a lesbian relationship. But it’s really about how love itself makes you feel at a loss for language, and every gesture is weighted with anticipation and meaning.” Further, Blanchett told the publication that “[i]rrespective of sexual preference, [the film] is honest about the feeling of falling in love.” That is something everyone can get on board with, and I look forward to seeing this love story evolve on the screen.

Back to Blanchett and Mara: wow, what a duo! Blanchett is a two-time Oscar winner, and Mara took home a co-Best Actress award at Cannes for her portrayal in this film. These two hard-hitting, deftly impressive actresses seem sure to give women a powerful presence this fall film season, and I am definitely up to see it all in action. Carol is set for a theatrical release on November 20, 2015.

Director: Todd Haynes (I’m Not There, Far from Heaven)

Starring: Cate Blanchett (Cinderella, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies), Rooney Mara (Her, Side Effects), Sarah Paulson (The Runner, 12 Years a Slave), and Kyle Chandler (The Wolf of Wall Street, The Spectacular Now)

Creed is a spin-off/continuation of the famed Rocky franchise, and it follows Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan), the son of the late, great Apollo Creed (portrayed by Carl Weathers in the Rocky series). Rocky himself (Sylvester Stallone) appears in the film, and as the trailer depicts, he will come into the picture just in time to train Adonis. In, in, in—I am in! Of course I love the Rocky franchise (not including Rocky V—BLAH), but I was wary of another addition to the storied series following the not-so-revolutionary Rocky Balboa. However, when I found out Ryan Coogler was directing, I was immediately sold. Coogler, making only his second feature film as a director, debuted on the scene in 2013 with one of the best films of that year, Fruitvale Station. It was a harrowing depiction of a horrible shooting, and it was crafted carefully and executed without blemish—his directorship alone gets me pumped to be back in the “Rocky” ring again.

Additionally, the casting of Michael B. Jordan in the lead role is the icing on top of the sundae. Jordan continues to grow as an actor, but it was his heartfelt, dramatic depiction of the lead character in Coogler’s Fruitvale Station that made me sit back and think, “Wow…this guy is good!” Even though they only have the single film collaboration, Coogler’s casting of Jordan in his sophomore effort leads me to believe that these guys get along great and make a fantastic team behind the scenes. For all fans of the Rocky series, this dynamic relationship between Coogler and Jordan is sure to make life enjoyable for us in this much-anticipated film. Creed is set for a theatrical release on November 25, 2015.

The story behind The Good Dinosaur is incredibly simple and yet so intriguing: what would have happened if the asteroid that (reportedly) killed the dinosaurs missed Earth? That question will be answered this fall in a story that follows Arlo (Raymond Ochoa), an apatsosaurus, and his relationship with a feral child, Spot (Jack Bright). An animated movie? On my list of films I am most anticipating this fall? Seriously? Absolutely!

Although I generally have enjoyed all of the Pixar movies that I have seen, I have never been too enthusiastic about animated films that have been made subsequent to my childhood. However, that all changed this year when I saw Pixar’s 15th feature, Inside Out. It is one of my favorite movies of 2015, and it brought out the kid in me again. With that said, ever since I saw the trailer for The Good Dinosaur, I was smitten with its story. It is a story about an innocent youth (stricken with tragedy—his father dies early on) and his relationship with a newfound companion. Usually the human is the one taking on a companion (usually in the form of another kid or a dog), but this simple twist in the classic storyline seems to be a good-natured treat for movies fans of all ages. I look for Pixar to knock it out of the (Jurassic) park again! The Good Dinosaur is set for a wide theatrical release on November 25, 2015.

The Walk chronicles the true-life story of Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a French high-wire artist, who strung a tightrope across the Twin Towers in New York City in 1974 and spectacularly (and dangerously) performed a high-wire routine for 45 minutes, whilst a quarter-mile above the ground. If you know this story, then you know how incredibly amazing it truly is. If you are unfamiliar with it, then boy, are you in for a treat!

My main interest in this film has nearly nothing to do with either Jo-Go playing Petit or legendary director Robert Zemeckis at the helm; instead, I am dying to see this movie because of the 2008 Oscar-winning documentary Man on Wire, directed by The Theory of Everything-director James Marsh. That documentary is by far one of my favorites of all time, and before ever seeing The Walk, I suggest you go check out Man on Wire first—you will not regret it (and it is currently streaming on Netflix). It allows you to get inside the head of this polarizing high-wire artist, and it delves deep into his life-long desires to pull off the NYC stunt. On the strength of Petit’s story, as delineated in Man on Wire, I anticipate The Walk being a memorable experience in theaters.

Notwithstanding my Man on Wire fandom, I am still excited to see JGL take on the role of such a captivating figure, and I know that Zemeckis will bring the same dramatic vigor and breathtaking trepidation to the actual high-wire scene that he did in Flight’s opening plane-crash scene in 2012. The Walk is set for a theatrical release on September 30, 2015.